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Former logo of American Idol from 2002 to 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some people were surprised at Jessica Sanchez’s near-elimination from Fox’s hit show, American Idol, but I sadly was not. Don’t get me wrong – I’m an admirer of her singing ability, and as a fellow Filipina-American, there is an immediate affinity. But having hired thousands of people over 15 years of recruiting, I’ve seen many times when the star candidate or obvious frontrunner falls short in the interview process. From what I’ve seen on Idol this season, Jessica made three key mistakes a lot of star candidates make that cost them the offer and may cost Jessica the win:

Picking the wrong things to highlight. Of the thousands of available songs out there, Jessica selected a lesser-known one. Instead of having an immediately relatable connection to start with (yes, we both know this song!), she started with a gap between her and her audience. Candidates do this all the time when they pick projects or accomplishments to highlight that bear little relevance to the prospective employer. You have years of experience and multiple projects to choose from, so what you choose to highlight must represent you well (Jessica did this) AND must resonate with the prospective employer (“Stuttering” did not). A real-life example: I recently coached a manager-level supply chain candidate interviewing for a chemical company. When asked for a quantitative example, he talked about a statistics project. Bad choice because his role didn’t require statistics, but rather more finance and accounting. Not all songs are equal. Not all quantitative examples are equal. You want to pick based on who you’re singing to or interviewing with.

Forgetting who the decision-makers are. The judges appreciate Jessica’s performances, and her song interpretation plays to what they like – for example, holding back instead of belting as expected. But the competition is decided by mainstream audience, not judges, and they might not notice or care for the nuance. In the job market, many candidates don’t identify and play to the decision-makers. It’s not enough to showcase your qualifications and experience and assume that people will appreciate it. Star candidates have great backgrounds and sometimes rest too much on their laurels. You still have to relay these great attributes in a way that engages the decision-makers. This means you have to know who is making the decision so you can frame your message in their perspective. Many times the decision is made by a team. You need to play to multiple perspectives. Many times the decision is made by junior and senior people. You have to make your sell accessible across a spectrum of people.

Underestimating the importance of likeability. When I saw that playful segment of Joshua and Holly, with Jessica sitting to the side, I started to panic for her. She’s already so quiet, with almost no backstory (what, no cute pets? No life crisis to share?), the segment just reiterated how little rapport she generates outside of her singing. If you have two qualified candidates, and one is less qualified but more likeable than the other, that less qualified candidate will win. I’ve seen this happen again and again, more often in fact than the other way around. People hire people. We all want to work with people we like. It isn’t about hiring our best friend who is clueless over a genius we don’t know. Whatever the judges say about Holly, she can sing. She’s the lesser qualified but still qualified more likeable candidate.

You might be a great candidate, but your background will not speak for itself. You still need to highlight the right things that your prospective employer cares about. You still need to frame your message to the specific decision-makers of your hire, not just anyone in the company. You still need to develop rapport and be likeable.

Bonus tip: Even if you do all these things, the final offer decision is still unpredictable. That’s why job search is still a numbers game – you want multiple opportunities in play at all times. You want quality AND quantity. Show business is just as unpredictable, so luckily Akon seemed ready to hire Jessica, regardless of whether Idol works out. Hopefully, she got his contact information. Even when a job offer seems imminent, you want other options.

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Ms. Levine, it is a shame to introduce yourself as a Filipino-American. If you are an expert as you bio states, and you know Jessica a countrywoman of yours is in such dire state, why did you not volujnteer your advice before catatastrophe struck? You added insult to injury by writing your article on Jessic based on your own viewpoint.Automaticallty, you placed an innocent victim of a sinister plot as the guilty one. Did you ever consider the alternatives which are numerous including creating a shocking event to boost participation and interest? or the evil work of someone or some forces who or which do not like a minority to get ahead or someone who wants Jessica out of the Idol so she can be free to be pirated

I so agree with you Cynthia. It is a shame that a fellow american of an asian (and particularly filipino background) who knows but to put down Jessica instead of reaching out to help. Perhaps it is still not too late if Caroline reach out immediately. If she still chooses to sit back and be ready to comment only when th

I so agree with you Cynthia. It is a shame that a fellow american of an asian (and particularly filipino background) who knows but to put down Jessica instead of reaching out to help. Perhaps it is still not too late if Caroline reach out immediately. If she still chooses to sit back and be ready to comment only when things do not turn around, then she should never even refer to her as of a filipino background!! Definitely shameful then

Of all the times that I have watched American Idol, never have I seen your 3 reasons that caused Jessica to be voted out actually happened to the past contestants. Some of the previous winners were not really friendly and sociable to the others at least as what I can see from what they show. Neither do they needed some cute pets nor cute group of children supporters to capture votes. Jessica’s choice of not so popular songs was not a basis either because despite the fact that they were not popular, those songs were difficult to sing and Jessica still sang them better than anyone of those in the so called top 4 last Wednesday. Whatever was the cause for that weird result last Wednesday, it was evil and sinister. Unfortunately, your write-up on it compounded the severity of the injustice and unfairness that occured. Sad to say, I am almost sure it has left a mark on the victimized 16-yr-old girl who happened to be a countrywoman of yours and mine.

agree! and the likability theory is not that absolute since there are many driving forces that causes a person to vote a certain candidate – and of which are thru force, bribery and many more. that is why we have the judges who are professionals and are inclined with music to equalize or balance the existence of unfairness in this world. Jessica is indeed deserving of that saving-moment. i am a Filipino myself and it is not a biased comment but a logical way of saying… “Did you expect the public to make their move to put you into a job like what you are doing right now? Are you indeed speaking in behalf of the public (regards to the choice of the perfect star) since you said you recruit?”

Yes, the outcome is still unpredictable even if the cards are already played right by whoever is in this kind of situation. Let’s not forget that at the end of the day it’s still the one who has the real ability to deliver the goods & get the job done matters most. Personality can be developed but great talent is innate.

However, the one with the great talent can work together with the the one with superb personality and eventually may learn from each other.

I’m Filipino-American. I agree with Caroline. I’ve blogged Idol for many years, and I’ve always said the black singers need to sing white. R&B doesn’t work very well on Idol. Jessica must have black blood (negrito) because she has sung a lot of black girl songs. She needs to whiten up. But let me say this as well: Only a small number of viewers actually vote, and the vote is skewed by mass text voting. So we don’t really know what America thinks of her. People out there might actually like her talent. And remember, Jimmy Iovine said he would sign her months ago. She will be signed by Interscope regardless of where she finishes. And let me say one more thing: She was not really voted off, that was just a Nigel Lythgoe extravaganza, put forth because he knew the Save would be used, and nobody would be eliminated.

Dear Ms. Lavine, the analogy you used reflects your ignorance of the Music Business or shall we say Show Business. On your headline, you can just delete “American Idol Hopeful Jessica Sanchez Exemplifies..” and leave: “Why Star Candidates Don’t Get Hired” and sans the names of Jessica and the Idol Contestants, this whole article seems to be like a recycled term paper from your Management or Marketing Class back in your College days. In writing articles about TV Shows, we expect contributors especially for the likes of Forbes to show us the business side of shows like American Idol and how brilliant the producers behind it. You have 7 episodes left before the Final Duel and at this stage, the least thing you wanted to happen as a producer is make the show results very predictable. We’ve heard the Top 7 sing and we already measured their caliber so for the next few episodes, I somehow built my predictions already and now the job of a brilliant Producer is to shake things up and make up some drama. With regards to song choice, the handlers of Jessica are doing a great job on choosing songs and doing arrangements that highlights her being a technical singer. At the end of the day, the 3 judges will always be the contestant’s market because the outcome will reflect on their status as highly paid judges. I have not heard the song Stuttering in my whole life so my immediate reaction was to research for the original rendition. After listening to it, hands down I can declare that Jessica just owned the song. My reaction of researching for the original version will be common to the “Target Market” of the American Idol show. This is not a beauty pageant so take note that 99.9% of the Market likes music a lot. It does not really matter if the song is mainstream or not . We also know how to distinguish a good singer from a great one. So again Ms. Lavigne, save this one for the Graduation Day articles. And bonus tip: always bet on the underdog that sits on the side while the playful segment plays.

The author is over-analyzing it. The reason it happened is because the last 5 years Idol has lost more of their adult audience, and has a voting system that gives an overwhelming advantage to teenage girl voters, who sit and flood votes for two solid hours for the cutest boy contestant. Adults are not going to sit and flood votes like that.

This is why the last five years the winners have been “cute boys” with far less vocal ability than others in the top 5. This is also why the show ‘The Voice” limits votes to 10 per phone number – to even the playing field across the voter demographic to make it more fair.

You are on to something, Gregg. It is just a personal observation, but I saw what you are talking about firsthand while I was at my neighbor’s home a couple of weeks ago. My friend’s daughters and their friends were watching the show, and they were devising their strategy to pump the most votes toward who the “cutest” boy was on the program. They were sniping at the other girls, including Jessica, for reasons that had nothing to do with singing ability. The amount of time and energy they devoted to this was unbelievable to me.

It won’t surprise me if at some point in your life you experienced discrimination considering you are very much Asian.

Anyway, my point is, it doesn’t take a pro-singer to recognize a person if she sings good or bad whether one is familiar with music or not. Those hit music on Billboard were never heard before so long the singer sings it well.

THERE’S NOTHING IN INTERVIEW OR WORK RELATED ISSUE that can be compared here to this country wide show on TV.

Being a pretty Fil-Mex but looks very Asian,Jessica’s descent plays a role with voters.This is still a prejudice country where no one should be above someone’s predominant color.I’m sure African-American will vote for their own color so as the Whites.I don’t think they can take the criticism in front of national TV that such a Fil-Mex is better than white or black American hence the votes.

LOL! Because she wasn’t a star candidate when Forbes was interviewing her… thus, getting her hired. To begin with, I find her ANALOGY not just weak but totally absurd. Sheeesh! The dangers when you try to use metaphors… *sigh*

Ricardo it is good to read that you have seen the positive side of this article written by Caroline. I am sure Jessica and her team appreciates this input from Caroline, after all only someone who has your best interests at heart will tell you the truth and you can then make the necessary changes to ensure success in future. We live in a time where marketing your product is of importance and you must be appealing to the audience. Jessica has an amazing voice, a voice which would do well in opera….and pop, R&B and others. It is really very unfortunate that time and again this poor girl Jessica is subject to people telling her it is a race issue, that white Americans don’t like her etc etc. I think it is the reaction of these people which is upsetting her more than those fans that voted her out…..those fans have every right to their opinion and she is smart and confident enough to handle that, she has been brought up in the U.S for goodness sake. But when people of her own race come out and interpret things from their point of view is something I do not understand. Why would you want to hurt this poor girl with all this nonsense about racial issues etc. Lea Salonga who is Filipina was successful in the U.S. I think people should just stop looking at the matter from their point of view and instead encourage Jesscia rather than depress her with all this nonsense. Life is tough sometimes it is also not fair…it is full of challenges and this is one of the challenges which Jessica will face with a strong heart and with the love and support of her family and friends who will give her positive attitude and make life easier for her and not further attract hatred towards her from her non fans by interpreting everything that has happened in a negative light. She is truly blessed that God gave her a second chance….like they say let God be the judge and be thankful for small mercies. Attacking Caroline is in no way going to help the situation and expecting her to do something for Jessica ….. why….Jessica has her team and she is capable to handle things herself. It is very unkind to attack people for expressing their opinion after we do live in a democracy …… lighten up ….. its just a show. If you feel so passionately about it then go and offer your help to her or at least stop saying things to make her feel even more depressed. I wish Jessica every success and hope that ALL Americans will realize that she is a smart, broadminded open person who can enjoy the admiration of her fans and face criticisms as well ….. after all God did not create anyone perfect…..perfection is something we work towards. Please send her good energies and stay positive.

I completely agree. If anyone gives any sort of review on Jessica that is not glowing with praise, her fans attack them. No one can even give her constructive critism (no bashing at all, but respectful critism) without her fans jumping in & calling people haters, racists and/or deaf. I won’t even view Jessica’s videos on YouTube anymore because her fans are over the top fanatic on YouTube and attack anyone who doesn’t think Jess is the best singer not only on AI but the world. When American Idol started this year, Jessica was one of my favorites & even voted for her. I think she has a beautiful voice, but I personally would not buy anything she has performed & if her song choices indicate what type of recording artist she will be – I will not be buying any of her music. I will never purchase a CD of ballads only & have not been impressed with any of her uptempo performances. Jessica’s fans can’t seem to accept that while most agree Jessica is talented vocally, others prefer a different style. Sorry, but Jessica’s song choices remind me of 80′s & 90′s music and not the type of music that is relevant today. Her singing style reminds me of an older diva, not a 16 year old that other 16 year olds can relate to. 40-50 year olds may love her music, but can you really picture many 16-25 year olds playing any of her AI performances while driving their car & rocking out? And how many 16-25 year olds sit there listening to depressing ballads all day?

I for one think you’re bang-on, Caroline. Qualifications and skills only take you so far in an economy in which social capital is the oil that lubricates the machine. If you can’t demonstrate relatability/likeability, you’re severely handicapped in your job search, interpersonal relationships, etc.

Its so clear this writer has demonstrated knowledge in show business. And as I read the article, it became clear why qualify candidates do not usually make the cut. The surprising thing about this article is how it has generated a lot of criticisms from the readers whom I believe are playing on emotions on the ground of sharing same origin with Jessica Sanchez as Filipina-Americans. Calling a spade a spade, Jessica Sanchez would have gone home if the judges had use their save in past weeks.

This is my tenth year of following American Idol and it has been full of surprises. We have seen better singers who would have won sent home because of same reasons the writer Carolina Ceniza-Levine identified. Starting with season 3, the vocal power house Jennifer Hudson was sent home exactly the way Jessica Sanchez would have left. If anyone followed that season, the week before Jennifer Hudson left, she had the highest number of votes, so the question was why did she go home after being America’s sweetheart? Th e answers are now obvious, she picked the wrong song, obviously forgot that the decision -makers are Americans and underestimated the power of likeability. Interestingly, Fantasia Barrino won the season who was at a point going through a scandal of being a divorcee, single mother and an illiterate, yet American found favor in her.

Another example is in season 6, the season Jordin Sparks won, do we remember Melinda Do-Little whom Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul even predicted of winning the tittle. She left the competition because of the same reasons the writer highlighted and most importantly she is always so quite, seemed not to look the part with no background story.

Americans are watching, and in as much as I love Jessica Sanchez, at this point of the competition it is anybody’s game. America will only vote for who appeals to them and who they believe has what and all it takes to become the next idol. So instead of criticizing this articles America, we all know the writer bared it all. Let us not play sentiments, if Jessica Sanchez fail again to remind America that she is the most qualified for this position, she may also be at risk of elimination bearing in mind that next week two hopefuls will be sent home in double elimination. I wish them all well!

Its so clear this writer has demonstrated knowledge in show business. And as I read the article, it became clear why qualify candidates do not usually make the cut. The surprising thing about this article is how it has generated a lot of criticisms from the readers whom I believe are playing on emotions on the ground of sharing same origin with Jessica Sanchez as Filipina-Americans. Calling a spade a spade, Jessica Sanchez would have gone home if the judges had use their save in past weeks.

This is my tenth year of following American Idol and it has been full of surprises. We have seen better singers who would have won sent home because of same reasons the writer Carolina Ceniza-Levine identified. Starting with season 3, the vocal power house Jennifer Hudson was sent home exactly the way Jessica Sanchez would have left. If anyone followed that season, the week before Jennifer Hudson left, she had the highest number of votes, so the question was why did she go home after being America’s sweetheart? Th e answers are now obvious, she picked the wrong song, obviously forgot that the decision -makers are Americans and underestimated the power of likeability. Interestingly, Fantasia Barrino won the season who was at a point going through a scandal of being a divorcee, single mother and an illiterate, yet America found favor in her.

Another example is in season 6, the season Jordin Sparks won, do we remember Melinda Do-Little whom Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul even predicted of winning the tittle. She left the competition because of the same reasons the writer highlighted and most importantly she is always so quite, seemed not to look the part with no background story.

Americans are watching, and in as much as I love Jessica Sanchez, at this point of the competition it is anybody’s game. America will only vote for who appeals to them and who they believe has what and all it takes to become the next idol. So instead of criticizing this articles America, we all know the writer bared it all. Let us not play sentiments, if Jessica Sanchez fail again to remind America that she is the most qualified for this position, she may also be at risk of elimination bearing in mind that next week two hopefuls will be sent home in double elimination. I wish them all well!

You forgot that you saying Jessica has a better voice than Hollie is an opinion. I don’t find Jessica’s voice very pleasing at all. She has a harsh tone when she hits the big notes and there is no emotion in her performance. Her facial expressions seem very contrived. And the judges over-pimping of her will end up having a negative effect.

As far as the males that have won the last five (actually four) years not being able to sing as well as the rest of the top five that is also an opinion. Scotty McCreery seems to e doing very well for himself these days.

Interesting assessment esp. the last part about being likeable and it appears that Jessica is indeed “shy.” And she’s been singing all her life and building up her talent but not her personality. It’s like when Ryan asked her what she thought and she said, “nothing.” She seemed to be in a cloud, not realizing what just happened.

Of course, she’s vocally the best on the show, but she doesn’t connect to the voting audience and will be voted off next week. But that won’t end her career.

I want to add that I’ve been watching AI for all the 10-11 years and the audience is KNOWN to be white middle-west / southerners. Minorities for whatever reason do not vote like whites do. It’s the white Caucasians in those two regions that vote the most. Notice the makeup of the audience in the tours.

As a Hispanic/Philipina, I’m rooting for Jessica, but I know that the audience is probably dead against her.

The biggest factor in winning American Idol is the demographic you attract. If you’re from the Southern states, small town and WGWG (white guy with guitar), you have a greater chance of winning. Just review the latest winners when AI allowed voting on social media, where young teen girls can vote hundreds of times. All are young attractive guys. Jessica is very likable. It just happened that she was in a trio performance with Hollie and Joshua who are really close. Jessica is best friend with Deandre who was booted off. And their friendship wasn’t shown on TV. Phillip is close to Heejun. As for the song choice in the last performance show, I myself don’t know any of the songs of the seven contestants, not only Jessica’s. So her song choice is not a valid reason.

America got it right. It was the over pimping by the judges that was Jessica’s down fall. This girl, who has lived her life on the reality TV circuit, from America’s Got Talent to America Idol is far from the total package. She has a boring personality and is so robotic and rehearsed. It did not help at all when the judges stormed on to the stage and Randy lecturing America that they weren’t doing their job by not voting for the “best singer in America”.

Interesting article. I think its a fair op-ed from an experienced job recruiter’s perspective. Crab-mentality? Totally not! A one person’s opinion and constructive criticism from a fellow Fil-Am is not crab-mentality.

This is kind of painful to read. Like a lot of the people commenting, I also believe this is just a bit over-analytical. The author fails to realize that what they air on the show does not give a full picture. Rather, the audience only sees a narrow interpretation of things based on what producers think would help show ratings. If the author did some more research, maybe she could come across Jessica’s behind-the-scenes videos and perhaps her opinion about her so-called underdeveloped personality might just change. I saw one of her vlogs from inside the mansion and she seems to be such a cool person – competition aside, she is a bubbly 16-year old girl who just wants to have fun! The whole Hollie-Joshua video with Jessica on the side was meant to be funny. Take it too seriously and your writing becomes impartial. Perhaps song choice is an issue, but still – you must be heartless to not be able to connect to her performances when, every week, she gives her absolute all. I don’t know about the author, but I saw her vulnerable side in her “Stuttering” performance – as if she was spilling out all of her emotions to America, completely letting go and free-falling. As I said before, a lot of things aren’t within her control – what is being aired, the comments the judges make on her – just like all the other contestants, she just gets up there and gives us her all every week and I think that is something America SHOULD idolize.

Thanks for the energy of all the comments. It’s nice to see when a post generates this kind of emotion. As much as I’d love to think anything I write influences a show in the magnitude of American Idol, alas, I don’t think that will be the case. The target of the post is not advice for Jessica Sanchez in the entertainment industry, but rather for talented candidates in the mainstream job market who might fall into the same traps (hence, the example of the supply chain candidate talking statistics instead of finance). Ideally we’d put as much spirit and emphasis on our own careers and job searches as we project onto American Idol candidates.

The author of the article manifested what is typically coined in the Philippines as ‘crab mentality’ — an attitude of pulling down someone to a lower stature to discount this person’s achievement (Jessica Sanchez in this case). The article could have been made more constructive by providing moral support and emphasizing on the positives, rather than pinpointing the negatives. And, in my humble opinion, the article written by Caroline Ceniza-Levine is self serving. She is an arrogant writer who wants her stature known to the public. Her analogies make little, if not, no sense — comparing supply chain and singing is like comparing apples and oranges. A manager making a hiring decision is different from a diverse population making a choice. I can give counterexamples that nullify practically all the arguments posed by the author of the article. Take the example of Jennifer Hudson, who got voted off, but later won Grammy and Oscar awards. Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, among others also rose from the AI contest after being ‘fired’ by the AI voting population. On the flip side there are also several AI winners who, unfortunately, did not deliver the goods post AI season.

I just wished the author of the article made an attempt to fully understand modus ponens and modus tollens prior to making such fallacious and non sequitur arguments.

But Lea Salonga, a multi-awarded musical actress said, ” At the end of the day, people would be so stupid to ignore an enormous talent.” It’s all about talent and that’s what I care for when watching AI.

Vote for Jessica simply because she deserve it. The author commentary comparing job in the corporate versus singing contest is way out of the topic. We should all realize that all the winners in American Idol were from out of state and and only two made it big in the music industry. The out of state fans do vote for their idol and history said so. Just watch supporters of out of state contestants preview and you will see the support they are giving to them and Jessica has only few relatives supporting her. Vote for Jessica folks.

I will ignore the comment of the author comparing the job market versus singing talent contest. The truth of the matter is Jessica Sanchez deserve to be there and not the one with the fewer votes. All of the winners in American idol where from out of state and only two made it big the music industry.

Enter Your CommentI also agree with Cynthia. How could Ms. Levine tell everyone and conclude that those three are the main reasons why Jessica almost got eliminated. First of all it is not a job application that we are talking about. It’s a singing contest. I may agree with some of her points of view but not all of them. First of all, the real essence of winner should not be solely based on the number of votes. As we all know the system of voting is not a “one vote per person”. Most teens would flood votes compare with adults who would not waste time patiently waiting for two hours sitting and continuously voting. There are bunch of kids that only go for those who are cute and likeable but less qualified contestants. Most of them don’t recognize real talent. So should we conclude that only teenagers are the ones that each contestant should target to win his votes? Then what happens after the competition? If we will relate this to job market, I don’t think companies will hire only cute, likeable but less qualified applicants. They will go for someone who has the real talent and is really qualified for the position because that person will give a very big contribution to the success of the company. Another thing, I don’t agree that identifying who the decision makers are will totally make a contestant win because America is a huge country with millions of different people living in it unlike in a company where there is only one or a team who is conducting an interview. It will be really hard for a contestant to identify and convince everyone! Considering that a he/she cannot convince everyone, this is where mentors and judges play a very big role in the competition. They can help and guide everyone who they should vote for and we should believe them because they are not just ordinary people, they are professional and experts in the music industry. They know who deserves a praise and so who needs to receive constructive criticisms. So it’s really rude to underestimate the judges. On the other hand, we cannot deny the fact that viewers’ vote are really important but they should vote wisely.

Enter Your CommentI also agree with Cynthia. How could Ms. Levine tell everyone and conclude that those three are the main reasons why Jessica almost got eliminated. First of all it is not a job application that we are talking about. It’s a singing contest. I may agree with some of her points of view but not all of them. First of all, the real essence of winner should not be solely based on the number of votes. As we all know the system of voting is not a “one vote per person”. Most teens would flood votes compare with adults who would not waste time patiently waiting for two hours sitting and continuously voting. There are bunch of kids that only go for those who are cute and likeable but less qualified contestants. Most of them don’t recognize real talent. So should we conclude that only teenagers are the ones that each contestant should target to win his votes? Then what happens after the competition? If we will relate this to job market, I don’t think companies will hire only cute, likeable but less qualified applicants. They will go for someone who has the real talent and is really qualified for the position because that person will give a very big contribution to the success of the company. Another thing, I don’t agree that identifying who the decision makers are will totally make a contestant win because America is a huge country with millions of different people living in it unlike in a company where there is only one or a team who is conducting an interview. It will be really hard for a contestant to identify and convince everyone! Considering that a he/she cannot convince everyone, this is where mentors and judges play a very big role in the competition. They can help and guide everyone who they should vote for and we should believe them because they are not just ordinary people, they are professional and experts in the music industry. They know who deserves a praise and who needs to receive constructive criticisms. So it’s really rude to underestimate the judges. On the other hand, we cannot deny the fact that viewers’ vote are really important but they should vote wisely and FAIRLY.

With due respect, what you said is quiet true but not perfect, 100%. Miracles do happen in any contest, including high-stake boxing and gambling. The audience might have failed to appreciate the figure, movement, color, appearance and clothes of Jessica Sanchez, but the Judges believed her and had faith in her. They raised her up even when she was beaten down. What the American Idol should have done to make all things equal on the basis of the contestant’s voice is to let everyone sing and be heard on the air only and never to be seen on screen. This should be the case to prevent the international audience from discriminating contestants who are of different color, different size, different mannerisms, different taste in clothes and make-up, and etc. There are outstanding singers in my time who did not win in similar contests in America and all they did was simply to record their song and yet excelled because of their voice that is very exceptional, such as the likes of: Paul Anka, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Connie Francis, Johnny Mathis, Michael Jackson, and many others. I for one had voted Jessica over the rest in American Idol because of her excellent and outstanding voice. Thanks.

Selecting ” Jessica selected a lesser-known one” song is not the primary reason plus the importance of likeability. You failed to point out who are the decision makers? Who are they? What are their taste? What are they culture bound. So far what she accomplished in her AI journey, she made it to the TOP 10. From what I see, If she does not win, I guarantee, she already raised the bar on her RESUME by the impressing the Celebrity JUGGERNAUTS like Pdiddy, Jlo, Randy Jackson, and possible recording labels. So her candidacy into the music world did not fall short as you claim. CHEERS!

You say its a personality contest so I can see why the best voice won’t necessarily win. You think Holly is better!! In terms of singing voices, I believe Jessica has the best voice, as do the judges. After several performances they’ve stated “best performance ever on Idol.”

However, America is voting, so it will be flawed; like the last several winners. James Durbin… c’mon are you kidding me! I shouldn’t be surprised, have you seen the Grammies? It’s all about light shows; no talent fems performing in under wear. Where’s the singing talent America? I’m afraid to say America’s vote reflects its talent.

And when HR ‘misses’ on the star candidate the bottom line suffers. The supervisor and co-workers now have more work to do – which can create resentment. There are training costs for the ‘likeable’ candidate, and co-workers – using the singing analogy – know that the choir did not get the best voice for the job. Likeable and talented is fine but working with a star is better as long as they are not unlikeable (not the case with Jessica). And here’s the real crunch – the star is now going to get hired by the competition- and who knows how much that hurts the bottom line of the company/choir that misses the ‘star candidate.’

It’s amazing to see the amount and intensity of the discussions in many social media channels Jessica’s plight on AI has been generating across diverse audiences. That to me is the mark of someone who is great or destined for greatness: either you love the person or you abhor him/her. No one he/she touches can be indifferent. In all these, I just wonder how much all these brouhaha affect Jessica herself. I admire her calm and composure in the midst of her bewilderment as things transpired, and her candid reply when asked: “… I just want people to know I have been working hard all my life”. At that tender age? What a feat for a 16-year old! She is really cool!

Enough said. To all of us who believes in Jessica’s talent, let’s all vote for her as many times as we could. I found out you could use your Facebook account to vote online. I’m doing this and will also tell my friends. Good luck to Jessica!

Great advice! I myself was wondering why she keeps singing songs that were not in trend with younger voters. Only two songs of Jessica that really keeps me interested, Whitney Houston and Billy Joel, then she started to sing that were (mind you) great and hard to sing songs but songs that were not so popular to the majority of voters. I think this was the caused of her being eliminated.

Anybody who discredits Caroline for this on the basis that she is failing to support a fellow Asian, a fellow Filipina, is a bigot. There are two things I see all too often that unsettles me to my very core. The first thing is that Asians can be EXTREMELY racist. The second thing is that as an ethnic group, Asians have a stomach-churning superiority complex. The most pressing example of that was the role Japan played in World War Two. Even to this day they look down on those on the outside. “Baka gaijin” (馬鹿外人) is what they say. To twist this into a reason to support one’s countryman is so appauling because it agrees with the divisiveness that still threatens to rip this nation apart to this day. It’s comparable to, say, when somebody disagrees with President Barack Obama, they’re automatically labeled a racist. Blacks who profess Conservatism are automatically ostracized by their own communities. That’s exactly what you’re doing, you who try to shame Caroline on the basis that she’s not supporting a countrywoman. I can say all of this because I am Asian too. To put it quite frankly, it is truly refreshing to see there’s somebody else out there that I can call a sister who doesn’t fit such a denagrating stereotype. More power to you Caroline.

I think most of you guys and gals are missing out on all the pointers that we’re indicated here. I’m a Filipino too (but it doesn’t matter and is irrelevant to what I am going to say), and really also an admirer of the vocal prowess of Jessica Sanchez (who technically is an American and half-Filipino + half-Mexican so can we all just drop the emotional feeling of obsessing on her because she is Filipino).

The author was not hating JS. He merely provided pointers to JS to make her better in his opinion. And the pointers are, truth to say, really is applicable to looking for a job. Yes, of course, we should not pick poor but popular candidates over qualified but unknown ones. But the pointers presented are quite key suggestions to make JS be better and have a fighting chance to snag the prize, especially that the finals are nearing and honestly most the of the constestants left (most I say, I did not say all) have very good vocal qualities and can sing well (just close your eyes and listen to each one intently please).

Pointer one is spot on. I mean come on, American voters are too varied and quite big, so JS need to pick the right songs relevant today (the audience of AI is predominantly too young to know most of the old songs and they rather listen to current pop tunes and mindless popular music). Pointer two is yes still addressed to her main judges and pickers – the audience. Of course she needs to listen to the judges and impress them but still let’s not forget to connect more to the audience (as what JLo is always emphasizing to JS for how many episodes and yet sadly I still don’t see some effort on her to do it. If she doesn’t then I’m not surprised if PP [aka Dave Matthews wannabe] or Skylar [that cracking country twang get into me really] will win this because they play emotionally to the audience and they know how to do it well to their advantage). And pointer three… enough said to that. It’s American “Idol” stupid. You need to show some charisma in order to get the majority voes of the American people.

There’s nothing negative about these pointers really, I find them more helpful. JS could try these without having any negative effect on her capability. Just hoping that JS would listen and back for a moment and redo her strategy. I’m still hoping she could win this but with proper strategy and knowing the rules of this AI game, she could win it no doubt.